“Spirituality is understood to be a “personal search to understand final questions about life, its meaning, its relationship to sacredness or transcendence..”
If you have been diagnosed with cancer, any cancer, it would be normal if you asked “Why me?” This was one of many questions that crossed you mind. At least I asked myself lots of questions when I was given my multiple myeloma diagnosis. In my head anyway.
Of course you will never get a real answer to any of your questions. But I think it is healthy to think about life’s great questions.
And believe me, a multiple myeloma diagnosis will force you to think about life’s great questions.
As the study linked and excerpted below explains, spirituality may be tied to easier cancer course.
I’m not saying that you must be a church-going cancer patient or a follower of one religion more than another. The study below cites a “sense of connection to being larger than oneself” may help. Many studies find that spirituality, religiosity is a cancer therapy. I have become more spiritual since my multiple myeloma diagnosis. For the record, I chose the image above because it is a photo of a cairn. An image that reminds me of hiking.
I am both a long-term MM survivor and a multiple myeloma cancer coach. If you would like to learn more about cancer coaching and receive the Introduction my e-book “Beating Myeloma-If I Knew Then What I Know Now…” for free, scroll down the page, post a question or a comment and I will reply ASAP.
An experienced cancer survivor and cancer coach can help.
Thank you,
David Emerson
- Multiple Myeloma Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
“Spirituality is understood to be a “personal search to understand final questions about life, its meaning, its relationship to sacredness or transcendence that may or may not lead to the development of religious practices or formation of religious communities”. In contrast, religiousness is the “extension to which an individual believes, follows, and practices a religion”.1
In the last few decades, these concepts are gaining more attention of scientists throughout the world. Studies have been showing that spiritual and religious beliefs could have an important impact on both physical and mental health.1 In addition, spiritual needs are common among patients, religious beliefs influence medical decision making and many patients would like their doctors to address these issues.1, 2However, few Brazilian Medical Schools have courses dealing with “spirituality and health”3 and few physicians and medical students are prepared to address these issues.4
“Cancer patients who report more religiousness or spirituality may also experience fewer physical symptoms of cancer and treatment and more social connection, several new papers suggest…
The new analyses reviewed previous studies of spirituality involving more than 44,000 cancer patients altogether. The studies varied in many ways, but religion and spirituality were associated with better health regardless of specific religion or set of spiritual beliefs…
For the impact of spirituality on physical health, the studies included more than 32,000 adult cancer patients with a range of cancer types and stages. Higher religious or spirituality scores were generally associated with better overall health…
A sense of connection to a being larger than oneself was associated with better physical function and fewer, or less severe, symptoms of cancer or treatment, according to patient reports…
Actual practice of religion, like church attendance, prayer, or meditation, was not related to physical health…
